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Rainbow trees reinvigorate Colorado landscape

Dead trees in the Colorado mountains are being given a new look by artist Curtis Killorn and his collection of brightly coloured paints.

Killorn says he has "a thing for trees" and that he sees his "rainbow trees" as public art installations. Having found a suitable dead tree, he prunes the tree, cleans it of loose branches and bark, and then places tarpaulin down below the tree to protect the surrounding ground. He uses water-based white primer over the tree first, followed by water-based outdoor latex in a range of colours.

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He paints from the top down, because the paint drips a lot.

He told Wired.co.uk: "The trees that I paint are long dead and weathered by hundreds of years. What I do is bring "life" back to the tree in a completely new way. This tree -- which was once dead -- is now vibrantly alive to be noticed by all, no longer blending in with all the other dead trees."

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Killorn first painted a tree in 2008 out of frustration towards the public art organization he belonged to, which had been in operation for two years with lots of bureaucracy and few results.

He told Wired.co.uk: "Out of frustration I located the perfect tree on a pathway in the hills and painted it without anyone knowing. It was a thrill to paint in secret and to hear people talking about the painted tree was even more thrilling. I remained under the radar even when people in town asked me about the tree, I would always responded very interested and ask if anyone knew who would have done such a thing."

The tree was cut down and chopped up, something that was met with public outcry.

He followed up with a couple of other trees, alongside key bike trails. Then last year he started to paint trees for friends and locals. Following positive responses and local media coverage, he launched a business called "Sacred Places", a full service landscaping function which incorporates painted trees.

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He explains: "Each design is unique and specifically tailored to the personality of the client. The intent of this enterprise is to create beauty where there is already beauty, highlighting the strengths of a tree now dead seemingly unimportant is in essence how we are to regard each other. In our busy lives we sometimes forget to notice the splendor of the world around us. Taking time to sit and enjoy a personal place for even a few minutes a day is sometimes all it takes to remind us how blessed we truly are."

Killorn will be taking a tree out to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada for this year's Burning Man event. His work has directly inspired UK artist Enza Mantio, who is now producing some trees of her own over the pond.